Inconsiderate boaters... its definitely getting worse on the ICW

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by BandB

Any of you driven a car lately? Walked into a store? Rudeness, lack of consideration is everywhere. ...............

That pretty much says it all.............

Us old geezers can reminisce about the good old days, but back then, most people were more polite or at least less rude and less selfish. Many folks today were raised with the thought that the world revolves around them. If you venture in public you will encounter rude people.

[Northern Spy]

Originally Posted by eyschulman

You all; will just have to move North West. North of Campbell River your main problem is wind-fog- current -rocks-bear- and whales. Hard to find boats out for a joy ride and if you really don't know what you are doing you might not last long.

Hey! shhhh...

At least in Canada there is the Pleasure Craft Operators requirement. It's not much, but it is a start, it at least forces some familiarity with the rules. 3 out 4 members of my family has theirs, all from the multiple week Power Squadron Course.

[Nimble1]

Our boat traffic increase in the winter is very similar to the car traffic during the "season" down here. If you go out, you must assume that a large majority of the boaters just bought their boat and have no knowledge of boating.
Its a shame but thats just the way it is. And rental boats!! Always give them a wide berth!!

[Carolena]

When it comes to being waked in the channel, I really missing our sailboat. With that boat, no one really seemed to care about us and gave us a pretty wide berth (most of the time). With the tug, everyone seems to want to get a close look, and winds up waking us in the process (while smiling and waving, no less). Very annoying. There aren't many, if any, other tugs where we are. I can understand the interest in taking a closer look at our boat, but you would think that people could at least try to be considerate about it.

My other gripe is people trying to get in front of us just as we are entering the no wake zone. What people don't understand is that we will be faster than them at idle without putting up a wake, which means I either pass them once inside the no wake, or wind up going in and out of gear to keep from running them over. If you are 100 feet from the no wake, why not just fall in behind the boat in front? One thing I've learned in that situation is that the NT puts up a pretty good wake as it tries to climb onto plane, and that wake does tend to keep people from making last minute high speed passes in the narrow channel.

Lastly, if you really want to pass someone at high speed, keep the speed up. I hate it when people drop down to half plane, increasing their wake, while trying to be considerate but actually making it worse. Slow pass is best, fast pass bad, but half on plane is the worst of all worlds when it comes to making a wake.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by eseyoung

Didn't try hailing. Someone once told me that if you didn't have anything nice to say you shouldn't say anything.

we were just a bit south of G3 when he actually passed. He ducked around to make it on the inside of G3. i went between G3 the green for the shoal. perhaps the shoal was why he turned to port?

Either way it was unnerving to say the least. Usually if you stay out of the channel you don't have to worry much about boats of that size running up on you. I considered turning to starboard to give him more room but i was already out of the channel and didn't want to run the risk of not being able to get back around quick enough to get his wake on the nose.

Well, I meant to discuss passage... not his parent's lineage...

I'm just estimating where you were at the time, but the chart suggests you may still have had lots of water to your starboard side. Can't guess whether my "lots" might have been your "enough" during the situation, but certainly sometimes the channel markers are more critical for ships than they are for us...

-Chris

[caltexflanc]

Definitely geezer talk, but it's our time to be geezers, so let's put on our rose colored glasses, recall when life was perfect and we were too, and bash today's ingrates and louts!

[BandB]

Wifey B: And old geezers have selective memory.....

[Moonstruck]

I was leaving a Fedex store in Port St. Lucie just yesterday. As I pushed the door open a woman carrying a package and talking on her cell phone was coming in. I held the door for her, and she blew by me without looking or acknowledging the fact. I just stuck my head in the door, and said, "by the way, you are very welcome". I am from the South, and we believe in social graces. Just a nod would have been nice.

[THD]

B&B-I see from your posts that you are up in our glorious PNW now. We may be the last bastion of politeness in the good ole US of A! People will actually stop and let you cross the street up here, and in the middle of the block! You can put on your blinker in a parking lot and others really do let you get into a space without cursing you and the last 16 generations of your family. It can be maddening if 4 cars show up at a 4-way stop intersection, no one will go for wanting to let the other guy go! Of course, we have our a**holes up here, but most of them moved here from California and don't know any better. Unfortunately, way too many of those own boats and boat on weekends on Lakes Washington and Union.

For those real boat jerks, we have that great equalizer, the Chittendon Locks on weekends. Where jerky boat jockeys that can't get their boats to the wall can get laughed at by hundreds of tourists lining the rails!

[Egregious]

Originally Posted by caltexflanc

Once you've said that, the rest of the post becomes redundant!

Slow pass is pretty common in NC, SC, and GA in my experience. There is always some ignorant nut. It has gotten to the point that no VHF communication is necessary. When the considerate fast boat hits my wake he backs off and I drop to idle speed. Either we both know the drill or we don't, but when we both do it works very well. The way I see it, it is the choice of the passer whether to be considerate or not. But by slowing down, it is also considerate to the passer as well, and makes it easier for them.

The Slow and Slower pass is another thing altogether, and almost as annoying and dangerous. I'm speaking of sailboats who won't back down... but this is for another thread.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Egregious

Slow pass is pretty common in NC, SC, and GA in my experience. There is always some ignorant nut. It has gotten to the point that no VHF communication is necessary. When the considerate fast boat hits my wake he backs off and I drop to idle speed. Either we both know the drill or we don't, but when we both do it works very well. The way I see it, it is the choice of the passer whether to be considerate or not. But by slowing down, it is also considerate to the passer as well, and makes it easier for them....

The slow pass came up in a thread here not too long ago and one of the regulars (with a claim of many years boating experience) stated that he would not slow down for a slow pass.

You never know who is thinking what, but I've learned that it's a waste of time and effort to try to control or change other people's behavior when you don't have the authority to do so.

[BandB]

Originally Posted by THD

B&B-I see from your posts that you are up in our glorious PNW now. We may be the last bastion of politeness in the good ole US of A! People will actually stop and let you cross the street up here, and in the middle of the block! You can put on your blinker in a parking lot and others really do let you get into a space without cursing you and the last 16 generations of your family. It can be maddening if 4 cars show up at a 4-way stop intersection, no one will go for wanting to let the other guy go! Of course, we have our a**holes up here, but most of them moved here from California and don't know any better. Unfortunately, way too many of those own boats and boat on weekends on Lakes Washington and Union.

For those real boat jerks, we have that great equalizer, the Chittendon Locks on weekends. Where jerky boat jockeys that can't get their boats to the wall can get laughed at by hundreds of tourists lining the rails!

Must be something wrong with us as we love the people wherever we go. Enjoyed the Makah Museum this morning. (Got carried away with purchases). Haven't seen many pleasure boats. Of course the fact there have been small craft warnings the entire time might be a partial cause. 2 to 4' wind waves and 4' swells at 10 seconds seemed calm today after the past two days. But we're now to calmer waters further in the strait. As to the Chittendon Locks, leaving them for June but definitely a weekday. We've watched the Army Corps' videos. Remind us of videos we've seen on the Ohio river.

Chattanooga has a 6 way stop. But everyone knows the system and it rotates nicely. I'd hate to see a 4 way some places I've been. Would be quite an accident.

[Moonstruck]

Originally Posted by BandB

Chattanooga has a 6 way stop. But everyone knows the system and it rotates nicely. I'd hate to see a 4 way some places I've been. Would be quite an accident.

Chattanooga is my hometown. Most of the funky intersections have been replaced by traffic circles. However, you are right. Drivers are much more courteous there.

In Fort Pierce just today, I was going to the hardware store in the traffic circle at Avenue A near the marina. A woman gunned her car in front of me because I wouldn't stop. She was mouthing bad words at me. She had come through a yield sign, and I guess didn't know that the vehicle on the circle has the right of way. This ain't Chattanooga, Toto.

[Moonstruck]

Originally Posted by Egregious

Slow pass is pretty common in NC, SC, and GA in my experience. There is always some ignorant nut. It has gotten to the point that no VHF communication is necessary. When the considerate fast boat hits my wake he backs off and I drop to idle speed. Either we both know the drill or we don't, but when we both do it works very well. The way I see it, it is the choice of the passer whether to be considerate or not. But by slowing down, it is also considerate to the passer as well, and makes it easier for them.

The Slow and Slower pass is another thing altogether, and almost as annoying and dangerous. I'm speaking of sailboats who won't back down... but this is for another thread.

Thanks. You get it. We do a lot of passing. I will usually call for a slow pass on your port. The ones that know how it works make the pass go quickly. The ones that don't make the pain last longer. You are also right about big sailboats. They can make a pretty good displacement speed.

Here is a link to the thread Ron was referring to. Some pretty good stuff in there.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s...ssed-5339.html

[Tom.B]

Originally Posted by BandB

Wifey B: And old geezers have selective memory.....

[FlyWright]

I wish we had that southern etiquette in these parts. I was coming back from SF Bay Opening Day and the Blessing of the Fleet on Sunday...feeling like I'd been to church in my boat! As I approached the mouth of Mare Island Strait/Napa River, I saw about 75 sailboats exiting the strait and fanning out to all the courses in my general direction. They must have been part of a sail race as there were still another 25-30 in the strait still heading out. I knew I'd have my hands full just dodging these little sailors.

As we got closer, they just kept flowing out of the river like flies released from a jar! Just then, Meg spots the high speed ferry about a mile astern plowing toward us at about 32 kts. By now, I'm in the thick of the sailboat cluster, dodging port and stbd as they seem oblivious to the presence of anyone beyond their bow.

This ferry blows through at full speed, barely 30 feet from the closest sailboat and probably 125 ft off our port side. At least I had enough room to maneuver for his wake and I didn't see any sailboats capsized, but I imagined the Capt upstairs at the helm smiling and laughing at the disturbance he caused. It was a pretty gutsy maneuver for such a large, fast vessel in such a confined and crowded area.

I wish I had a video of the mayhem. It was a sight to see!

[BandB]

Originally Posted by FlyWright

I wish we had that southern etiquette in these parts. I was coming back from SF Bay Opening Day and the Blessing of the Fleet on Sunday...feeling like I'd been to church in my boat! As I approached the mouth of Mare Island Strait/Napa River, I saw about 75 sailboats exiting the strait and fanning out to all the courses in my general direction. They must have been part of a sail race as there were still another 25-30 in the strait still heading out. I knew I'd have my hands full just dodging these little sailors.

As we got closer, they just kept flowing out of the river like flies released from a jar! Just then, Meg spots the high speed ferry about a mile astern plowing toward us at about 32 kts. By now, I'm in the thick of the sailboat cluster, dodging port and stbd as they seem oblivious to the presence of anyone beyond their bow.

This ferry blows through at full speed, barely 30 feet from the closest sailboat and probably 125 ft off our port side. At least I had enough room to maneuver for his wake and I didn't see any sailboats capsized, but I imagined the Capt upstairs at the helm smiling and laughing at the disturbance he caused. It was a pretty gutsy maneuver for such a large, fast vessel in such a confined and crowded area.

I wish I had a video of the mayhem. It was a sight to see!

It's as if they thought the water had been roped off for their use I guess and no one else allowed to use it.

[Egregious]

Originally Posted by Moonstruck

Thanks. You get it. We do a lot of passing. I will usually call for a slow pass on your port. The ones that know how it works make the pass go quickly. The ones that don't make the pain last longer. You are also right about big sailboats. They can make a pretty good displacement speed.

Here is a link to the thread Ron was referring to. Some pretty good stuff in there.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s...ssed-5339.html

Don,
you likely have passed my trailer trash trawler in the MB ditch. The pass that was made was good, and I thank you for keeping our drinks upright.

Woody

[Moonstruck]

Originally Posted by Egregious

Don,
you likely have passed my trailer trash trawler in the MB ditch. The pass that was made was good, and I thank you for keeping our drinks upright.

Woody

As I tell Lou, the one you give a bad pass could be your slipmate tonight. The ICW is really a small world.

[Daddyo]

Originally Posted by caltexflanc

Once you've said that, the rest of the post becomes redundant!

Simple solution is the bigger your boat the less it matters Seriously when we had smaller boats I was convinced the world was a crueler place. Now that we are big the others are much more likely to yield or if they don't their wake really doesn't matter to us. Size matters